Jun
10
2012

Jenrry Mejia’s Shift To The Bullpen Is Official

An article by Joe D

Looks like it’s official…

Triple-A manager Wally Backman confirmed tonight that Jenrry Mejia will indeed be removed from the Bisons rotation and will start working out of their bullpen effective immediately.

Mejia concludes his stint as a Bisons’ starter with an 0-1 record, a 1.13 ERA and seven strikeouts in 16 innings.

It won’t be long until you’ll see Mejia playing at a Rotunda near you…

But the real question is who replaces Mejia in the rotation?

Continue reading below…

Original Post 6/9

According to Adam Rubin, an organization source says Jenrry Mejia, who opposes Jamie Moyer tonight at Buffalo, is likely making his final minor league start before shifting to a bullpen role.

Mejia, 22, has really impressed during his six minor league starts since coming back from Tommy John surgery. The power-armed right-hander has gone 1-0 with a 2.97 ERA. In 30.1 innings pitched he has allowed just 22 hits and seven walks while striking out 21 batters.

A shift to the bullpen could also open up a spot for either Colin McHugh (5-4, 2.48 ERA) or Zack Wheeler (6-2, 1.66 ERA) or both, especially if the Bisons decide to bounce Dylan Owen (3-3, 5.32 ERA) out of the rotation.

Coincidentally, this news broke shortly after I tweeted the following this afternoon:

Petey Pete isn’t the only Minor League Svengali around here you know….

We’ll make some calls and see if we can dig up some juicy tidbits on this front in the next day or two. Keep your dial set to MMO.

About the Author: Joe DeCaro

I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73 and '00, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.

13 Comments + Add Comment

Metsie June 9, 2012 at 10:01 pm

Well Pete (under Torture) said that Wheeler will get two more starts in AA before being brought up to AAA to get a half a season of work in both.

That seems like a good timeline there and what was Said by Sandy about what the plan with Mejia would likely look like…He said July if we are still in it.
ConnorUAF June 9, 2012 at 11:02 pm

Well if you had to chose to call up McHugh or Wheeler, who do you bring up? I’d say McHugh if you HAD to chose. Give Wheeler a few more starts. Why not?
- Metsie June 10, 2012 at 12:39 am
  
  I wouldn’t let Wheeler see the MLB at all this year…Not even in September…
  Let him finish his AAA Season then give him a full offseason to rest up…
  Sure he might learn more and polish some pitches in Winterleague but we need to keep him healthy or all that promise burns up and turns to smoke
jerseymet June 11, 2012 at 7:49 am

Good to see strong pitching in the minors. Will Sandy start clearing out our Major league Bullpen?
- Even Flow June 11, 2012 at 7:57 am
  
  Sooner than later. Parnell, Rauch, Francisco most likely will be the first ones to go.
  - Metsie June 11, 2012 at 11:49 am
    
    Here is my bold prediction….Francisco will survive….
    
    He’s the only guy in the pen who has shown even a sliver of the attitude a closer needs to have to succeed.
- Amazin June 11, 2012 at 8:05 am
  
  Hmm, couple years ago, Omar and Manuel blasted for moving Mejia to pen. I guess its OK when an Ivy League fraud does it.
  - Alex68 June 11, 2012 at 8:15 am
    
    How Dare you insinuate something like that… Don’t you know this front office’s moves and desicions cannot be questioned? Sandy is a very smart guy, even label a genius and you nor anybody else should ever question his moves or what he does, From Genius to having a good day everything he does is for the best of the franchise. Don’t you dare question his moves, he’s the best GM we’ve had in a long time and omar minaya was fired and is no longer here, what he did is irrelevant now, he spent money like crazy, destroyed the minors and sandy is here to change all that. Who cares if we lost reyes, beltran and krod, he’s given us Hairston, Capuano and Byrdak.. our GM is sandy alderson and we should worship and embrace his every move ok.
    
    This Msg was brought to you by: Sarcalex 68
    
    Thansk
  - JOB June 11, 2012 at 10:04 am
    
    A couple of years ago we did not have the starter prospects we have now. If we hadn’t got Wheeler and drafted Harvey, Meijia would still be considered as a starter. Looking ahead, the Mets desperately need reliable relievers, so I’m happy for this move. At the same time Mets fans need to be patient. It takes time for young kids to settle down in the Majors and make the adjustments necessary. We gave up on Heath Bell, I hope we give Parnell time to figure things out.
  - Even Flow June 11, 2012 at 11:24 am
    
    What exactly did we have the last time Mejia was in the AAA rotation? Everyone knows Mejia was toyed around and management didn’t know what the hell to do. Have you paid attention to the guys in AA that are more than ready to take up spots in the rotation in AAA right now? Did we have that years ago? Of course not!
Hoegy June 11, 2012 at 9:38 am

I agree but I would hold back the saintly references for a little while. Our Mets organization is certainly on the mend and heading completely in the right direction. We will wed our pitching with our young postion players when the time is right. Then you will have potential free agents/trades for veteran experience that will want to play here. Sound familiar?

LGM and Sandy!
- Alex68 June 11, 2012 at 11:55 am
  
  Our Mets organization is certainly on the mend and heading completely in the right direction”
  We will wed our pitching with our young postion players when the time is right.”
  Then you will have potential free agents/trades for veteran experience that will want to play here”
  LGM and Sandy!”
  
  SMH
  - Hoegy June 11, 2012 at 12:15 pm
    
    ?

NL East Standings

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB
Braves	41	28	.594	-
Nationals	34	34	.500	6.5
Phillies	33	37	.471	8.5
Mets	25	39	.391	13.5
Marlins	21	47	.309	19.5

Last updated: 06/16/2013

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